EMPLOYMENT SUCCESS OUT OF COLLEGE A MATTER OF DEGREE

New Georgetown University study looks at fields of work, unemployment and pay

A study based on census data shows the unemployment rate for new undergraduates is at this “unacceptable” level

Some college degrees are better than others when it comes to employment.

That’s the conclusion of a study that shows recent graduates with degrees in nontechnical fields such as the arts and humanities are more likely to be unemployed than their counterparts who specialize in education, health care, most kinds of engineering and the sciences.

“Your prospects for employment are determined by your major,” said Anthony Carnevale, lead author of the study, “Hard Times, College Majors, Unemployment and Earnings: Not All College Degrees are Created Equal” from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.

Unemployment rates for those majoring in education and health care were 5.4 percent. Engineering showed a 7.5 percent unemployment rate.

By contrast, arts majors had an 11.1 percent unemployment rate. Those with degrees in the humanities and liberal arts had a 9.4 percent unemployment rate and those in social science 8.9 percent.

Computer and mathematics also were above 8 percent.

But the hardest hit was one of the technical fields: architecture, which showed a 13.9 percent jobless rate.

The report attributes that to architecture’s “strong alignment with the collapse in construction and housing.”

The report, which studied recent graduates 22 to 26 years old, comes at a time when rising tuition and student debt loads have caused some to question the value of a college degree.

In addition to unemployment rates, the study looked at average earnings for degree holders in more than 15 fields in their first four years out of college.

With all fields of engineering averaged together, recent graduates in that occupation earn an average of $55,000 annually.

Holders of degrees in the arts, recreation and social work earn an average of $30,000. Those in the humanities and liberal arts earn $31,000.

“What you make depends on what you take,” Carnevale said. “If you have a degree in petroleum engineering, you’ll make over $100,000. And if you get a degree in counseling, you’ll make $30,000.

“It’s fine to go and learn about Shakespeare, but Shakespeare didn’t do it for the money,” he said. “And you won’t be, either.”

Beyond unemployment rates and pay, another key finding in the report is that getting a college degree of any sort is far more likely to ensure employment than entering the workforce with only a high school diploma.

The study, based on census data, shows that the unemployment rate for new undergraduates “is an unacceptable 8.9 percent, but it’s a catastrophic 22.9 percent for job seekers with a recent high school diploma — and an almost unthinkable 31.5 percent for recent high school dropouts.”

Elliot Hirshman, president of San Diego State University, said the study’s core findings about the outcomes for those with different degrees are not exactly new. But the value of any college degree, he stressed, cannot be dismissed.

“I do think that’s an important part to emphasize,” Hirshman said after reviewing the report. “Irrespective of what major you enroll in, there is compelling evidence that from an economic perspective, and many perspectives, it’s advantageous to go to college.

“People who go to college live longer, have better health outcomes, a whole range of positive outcomes.”

“You can’t judge the impact of a professional choice solely based on salary,” he said. “There’s a range of intangibles.”

The SDSU president also noted that even if liberal arts majors may not make a lot of money right out of school, their degrees can lead to “a range of career paths.”

“Both Ronald Reagan and Martin Luther King Jr. were sociology majors,” he said.

Ann-Marie Auger-Andrews, a 21-year-old student at the University of San Diego, is pursuing a degree in communications. Recent graduates with such degrees, according to the study, receive among the lower salaries, at $33,000 annually. Their unemployment rate, however, is a relatively low 7.3 percent.

“When I chose my major, I really didn’t think much about how much I’d make in the future,” said Auger-Andrews. “I chose it because it’s what I enjoy doing.”

A fellow USD student, electrical engineering major Julie Birch, said she is getting the best of both worlds.

“I chose engineering because I love math and science,” said the 21-year-old. “The salary and the job security were definitely part of my decision to do engineering, but they weren’t the only reason. I’m doing what I love and I get to be paid (well) for it.”

Barbara Sawrey, the University of California San Diego’s associate vice chancellor for undergraduate education, took issue with the Georgetown study.

“I would like to argue with their underlying premise — that students go to college to make money,” she said. “Certainly, that’s part of it. But I don’t think students or their parents think that’s the only reason.

“We want to educate students to be creative and thoughtful and be resilient in the workplace. We want them to have breadth.”

Sawrey didn’t quarrel with the idea that an arts major is likely to make less than an engineering graduate or face a higher probability of unemployment.

“Does that mean they’d be unhappy?” she asked. “Money doesn’t necessarily equate to happiness in the job. Students need to pick something they’re going to be happy doing. We need dancers, right? We need actors. I’ve been to four plays and an opera in the last two weeks. (The performers) looked like they loved what they were doing … They are enriching society for everybody.”

Hirshman, of SDSU, made a similar point.

“I want to emphasize that while there is an economic value in the degree,” he said, “there’s also substantial value in helping people to be productive in a democracy … There’s a broader societal impact.”